Breaking Azula
by BruisedKnees
Summary: It's been a long time since Sozin's comet. Azula has been imprisoned for months. With difficulty, Azula learns how to be compassionate and strong after imprisonment. She makes friends and learns about life outside the fire nation.


Azula sulked in the darkness. She sat away from the small window of light streaming down from above, the only sign of life outside of her lonely prison cell. Her dark hair was matted and tangled. A layer of grit covered her face. The lack of sun left her pale and weak. How long had it been since she had been imprisoned? How long had it been since she breathed fresh air from outside? All the former princess knew was that she had spent a lot of time in prison.

Unfair. It was unfair that she, the rightful heir to the throne, was rotting in prison. Unlike Zuko, Azula had worked hard to please her father, former Firelord Ozai, so that he would pass the throne down to her just as Ozai had persuaded his father to ignore his older brother's birth right and pass the throne down to him.

Azula refused Zuko's offer of a better place to stay, better food, and caring doctors to take care of her. She chose to suffer and stay in her uncomfortable prison cell. It was better than having to accept "the kind charity of the revered Firelord Zuko."

Ironic. It was ironic that she was now regarded as a traitor to the Fire Nation, just as Zuko had once been.

Blood streamed down her forehead as she banged her head against the wall, screaming. Azula was going insane in the solitude of her cell. Defeat was something foreign to her. How had _she, _the feared and esteemed Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, been defeated? Frustrated, she continued to beat her head against the gray stone walls.

Unthinkable. Within the past year, everything she had never imagined happened. The highly improbable happened. The Fire Nation lost the war, the Avatar had returned, and the throne she finally managed to secure had been stolen from her. Azula shuddered and fell into a fitful sleep.

"Azula?"

The girl jolted upright to find the kind face of her mother through the metal prison bars.

"Mom?" Her whisper was barely audible to her own ears against her loud and rapid heartbeat. How did her mother find her? Fire Lady Ursa looked just as Azula remembered. She had a calm face, glistening brown eyes, and dark hair that flowed beautifully to the side. Her tone of voice, soothing and kind, made Azula's heart melt.

"I want to tell you something." Her mother leaned forward. Suddenly, Ursa's sweet expression soured. Her face contorted with anger, startling Azula. "You deserve this."

The floor erupted into flames, burning Azula alive. She was unable to firebend her way out. The distant chant of millions resonated. _Monster. Monster. You're a monster._ Azula screamed as she became engulfed by the flames.

Sweating, Azula awoke from her torturous dreams. The setting sun illuminated her solitaire cell with an orange glow. She chided herself for being weak and reacting to a mere dream.

The distant sound of someone yelling made her head cock to the side. The sound was coming from the direction of her father's prison cell.

Moments later the guard outside exclaimed, "Firelord Zuko! Your excellency!"

The door swung open violently with a clang. Infuriated, her older brother ran to her and reached out through the metal bars. She felt herself being lifted by the collar high up in the air.

"Where. Is. She?" Zuko snarled through clenched teeth.

"W-who?" Azula asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Mom. You know where she is. How could you be so cruel?" Zuko yelled in pain. "She's our mother. You tell me where she is! Now!"

"I don't know where Mom is!" Azula snapped back, angered.

Zuko dropped her violently. "You're lying," his icy voice filled with hate. "You always lie." He stormed out of her cell, leaving his sister bewildered and emotional.

_What made him think she knew where Mom was? _Of course she didn't know where she was.

But she would do absolutely anything to find out.

There was only one person in the world who knew what happened to their mother.

Only Ozai knew.

Obviously Zuko was unsuccessful in uncovering the truth from Ozai. He would lie to Zuko for the rest of his life just to show some resistance against the disobedient son who had stolen the throne. This was Ozai's way to have some leverage against the new firelord. As long as his son was desperate to know the truth, Ozai would have the upper hand. He would torture Zuko with knowledge of the truth.

Because of his father, Zuko would never uncover the truth. But that didn't mean the truth could never be uncovered.

Azula screamed loudly.

Again.

And again.

And again.

And again, until the guard outside couldn't bear it anymore. He burst through the door, annoyed. "What's with all the racket?"

"_Please." _Azula gasped, her hands clutching her side.

The guard drew closer. "Is this a medical emergency?"

"Yes." Azula said as her hand shot through the metal bars. "You'll be needing a doctor." She lit the guard on fire and quickly stole the keys to her cell. Sticking her hands through the bars, she unlocked the door from the inside and freed herself. Azula started to run.

Hurriedly, she started to calculate and strategize. _It would take the guard a minute to stop the fire on his clothes from spreading, assuming he lived. The chances of him alerting another guard were slim, and if he could alert another guard it would take approximately three minutes. The next guard would come by in 5 minutes. It would take several minutes to locate where she is. _ She had exactly seven minutes to escape. _Ozai's cell was located down the hall to the right. It was on the way to the exit, and was probably guarded by two guards._ Luckily, Zuzu had made the mistake of underestimating his emotional wreck of a sister and his harmless father who could no longer firebend.

Azula stuck to the shadows and made her way to Ozai's cell. With ease, she knocked out the two guards posted outside. Inside the cell, Azula found her father in an even worse condition than she was in. Caged and defeated, the former firelord was wasting away. His guant body was slumped against the wall. The defeat of the Fire Nation left him downtrodden. Ozai sat upright and alert at the sight of his daughter.

"Azula?" he asked, surprised.

Azula kneeled before her father, head bowed down in complete respect. "Father, I am here to free you."

Ozai's face lit up, completely pleased. "Excellent! You truly are an honorable daughter."

Azula slowly made her way to the lock, key in hand. "That fool Zuko has been pestering you about mother, hasn't he?" Azula asked, disgusted.

"Yes, that idiot. He will never uncover the truth."

"How presumptuous of him to even try asking! Did he _really _think you would tell him?" Azula agreed indignantly. "He's obviously wasting his time. Mother was banished from the Fire Nation, wasn't she?" she unlocked the cell.

Her father burst into laughter as he stepped out of his cell. "Banished? She was never banished. She's still here."


End file.
